Build Your Career as a Marine Engineer: Career Decisions

Online Desk | June 17, 2014

Marine Engineering

Marine Engineers are responsible for the design and construction of seagoing vessels and structures, focusing primarily on their internal systems. Simply put, they design the on-board electrical, environmental and propulsion systems aboard everything from oil platforms to cruise ships.

No environment on Earth is as demanding as the sea. Designing and building vessels and structures that can withstand the wind, waves and salt exposure requires special education and experience. The modern world's global commerce is largely enabled by the ocean-going technological marvels created by Marine Engineers.

Today's oceans are plied by oil and cargo ships that are amazingly huge and complex. The largest ship ever built, once named Seawise Giant, was over 1500 feet long. Royal Caribbean International recently launched 2 Oasis class cruise ships, floating paradises that routinely carry over 5000 happy cruisers on vacation. The Marine Engineering involved in assuring the safety of the crews and passengers of these behemoths is challenging and exacting. Marine engineers routinely break records and create new technology as a normal course of doing business.

The normal path to becoming a Marine Engineer is to pursue a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited university. Many public and private colleges offer undergraduate degrees in Marine Engineering, but there are some schools that specialize in this arena. Marine Engineers are highly involved in the design and operation of shipboard electrical and environmental systems as well as power plants, so you'll take courses in electrical engineering, fluid dynamics and power production.

Moving on to a Master's Degree in Marine Engineering will often encompass a broader area of study including Naval Architecture. Naval Architecture involves the overall structural design of ships and other vessels.

Account BenefitAt the pinnacle of Marine Engineering are professionals who have earned their Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the field. With the complexity involved in many of these large-scale systems, the sky is the limit.

Demand for Marine Engineers is expected to continue growing about as fast as the national average for all careers. New fields like alternative energy from wind and tides combine with traditional ship design and oil platform work to generate a healthy demand for professional Marine Engineers.

The demand is expected to be fueled by a combination of factors. First, many existing vessels may need to be retrofitted to comply with new regulations involving pollution and emissions standards. As oil companies continue to move offshore to drill, marine engineers will also be needed to design and service these rigs. Marine engineers will be needed to work on offshore energy sources, such as wind turbines. However, as marine engineering is a relatively small field, the numerical change is only expected to be about 1,000 new jobs.

Career advancement usually follows with experience in the field. You'll normally start off focusing on specific systems and move on to more complex applications as you increase your experience and education. There are many opportunities operating systems in their native maritime environment, but if life at sea isn't for you, there are many office-based jobs where skills like Computer Aided Design (CAD) come into play.